Survivor
by Dimensionist
Summary: Life, relived infinitely. An average man, a subject for a not so average experiment. SI
1. The Beginning of An Experiment

_The last thing I felt at the end of my first life was pain._

_I'd been out of campus, shopping. A few knick-knacks here and there, a few stationery items, and I'd decided to go treat myself to some good food before I went back. There'd been a fairly decent-looking restaurant nearby, and I'd gone in, hoping that the food matched the appearance of the place._

_The moment I walked in, I'd signed my own death warrant._

_Terrorism had been on at an all-time high in the country at the time. The recent attacks on Mumbai, the attacks on Delhi - terrorists were getting bolder. I suppose it was just my luck that their next target turned out to be a busy market place in Hyderabad - or, to be more precise, a specific restaurant that an unlucky schmuck was currently eating in._

_That would be me, by the way._

_There wasn't really any sense of realization, or horror involved. It happened far too quickly for that. One moment, I was eating my food, enjoying the rather delicious pasta that I'd ordered. The next, I was flying through the air, the back of my body burned, my clothes torn. My momentum was arrested by a piece of wood, splintered from a table broken by the explosion. I had about enough time to realize that it was an explosion caused by a bomb located near the counter, before I finally succumbed to blood loss from the piece of wood that had skewered my heart._

_And that was how I died. Well, the first time anyway._

_Funnily enough, I cannot remember seeing a heaven or hell in the time I was dead. In fact, I cannot remember seeing anything at all. Or hearing anything, or feeling anything, or ... well, you get the picture._

_I remember feeling my heart give out from being impaled on a table leg. And then I was gasping, rising out of a bed of water or some other clear liquid, coughing and trying to draw air into lungs I could have sworn had stopped working. For a moment, I just lay there, coughing and drawing breath, completely out of sorts and wondering how I was still alive._

_And then a strange, alien face loomed over me and I screamed._

_After I'd managed to calm down - or, to be more precise, after I'd been injected with a cocktail designed to calm me down - the creature in front of me explained my current state of ... well, liveliness._

_It was an experiment, he explained. I was nothing special, really - he made that point very clear. But he'd observed the results from performing this experiment on those that were special - had seen the dividends that had been reaped - and had decided to conduct his own experiment, to see what happened. My consciousness, my 'soul' so to speak, had been wrenched out from wherever it had been and dumped into this false body of mine. And then came the explanation of the experiment._

_I was to live. Again, and again, and again. My consciousness would be sent forth, from reality to reality, and I would live out my life as a person of that reality. As my 'soul' grew from my experiences and by consuming the existence of those I'd replace - something that had made me sick, until it was explained and proved to me that I'd be replacing an empty shell each time, just energy and no consciousness - I would become something different. Something more, than simply human. And I would never, ever forget. Anything._

_That was the most emphasized part of the creature's explanation, and the crux of the experiment. I would never forget any experience I ever had, my memories stored in a non-physical medium of infinite capacity. I would grow, as a person, as a creature, until there would be nothing similar between who I was and who I would become. I would be more - and that was what the experiment was designed to test._

_Those who had been similarly tested before had been special beforehand. They had possessed a Seed, an incarnate example of all of existence. Those people - those exalted creatures - had ascended to a status greater than even that of the gods when the experiment had concluded. They'd become the guardians of all reality, the custodians of the omniverse - Zero Authority Creators._

_The test was thus devised and implemented. Would I manage to be like them, even though I did not possess a Seed? What would I become, if not them? It was a simple test, if incredibly long, but the being who had revived me had all the time in the omniverse. He had nothing to fear of time's passage, and as he explained, the same would soon be true of me._

_I would die. Again and again and again. But just as I would die, so I would live. More than any human. More than any natural creature._

_It was the chance of a lifetime, to rise above the fear of death that plagued all humans. Was it any wonder then, that I accepted? Was it any wonder, that I was too naive to understand the troubles that would soon befall me?_

_I was to live forever, experiencing everything reality had to offer. But somehow, in my hope and happiness, I had forgotten - in life, you take the bad with the good._

_And I had an eternity of life to look forward to._

* * *

"Kiyama-sensei!"

Kiyama Harumi, researcher-turned-school-teacher, turned around to look at one of the brats she'd been charged to teach.

Her first day at the orphanage had been a disaster. The children there seemed completely out of control to her, and she couldn't help but wonder if that was what kids were always like. If so, she was glad she'd focused on her career rather than on family like a few of her friends did. She couldn't imagine dealing with_that_ full-time.

She hadn't even taken her first step into the classroom before the disaster had started. First, there had been the chalkboard eraser on the door sill. Cleverly positioned, she'd give them that - now if only they could use that cleverness in their studies and daily life rather than in pranks on their school-teacher!

Things hadn't gotten much better. Her class was unruly, _at best_, and animals at their worst. There'd been no order, no discipline, and no sense of duty in that classroom. The girls at least tried - the boys spent the whole class goofing around and making crude jokes.

She was tired, cranky, and in no mood to deal with those brats any further. But ... being kind to her students was the duty of a good school-teacher.

"Yes ... um, Fudou-kun, right?"

The only boy in the class who'd been well-behaved the whole time she'd been teaching. _His_ name, at least, she'd remember.

"Right. Fudou Satoshi, sensei. Anyway, there was something I wanted to ask you. Are you free right now?"

She was. But ... to spend that time with one of _her_ students?

She glanced at the boy's hopeful face, and sighed.

_Oh well. He was well-behaved, after all. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad._

He was a strange one, this Fudou Satoshi.

When he'd asked her for some time, she'd expected something more typical of the brats in her class. Maybe he was playing a prank on her, or he'd discuss something childish, or something in a similar vein. She'd not expected him to ask so many questions about ...

Well, espers.

"So? What do you think, sensei? Is there something that can be done?"

Harumi sipped a little from her tea, while thinking over the question.

Fudou Satoshi had been interested in increasing his esper level, and so had sought her out. For the most part, his interest was harmless. Despite his almost disturbing level of knowledge of the power growth curriculum and the various tests and features involved, his ideas were relatively orthodox and simple. Still, he'd offhandedly mentioned a few things here and there that had been startling in how well-versed he was in his knowledge of power development. He must have read _a lot_ to be so familiar with the various theories and laws governing the esper program.

"There's ... not much else I can tell you that you don't already know, Fudou-kun. You've already tried out most of the exercises you could practice for that purpose. I'd recommend you simply continue them - with time, you'll likely see a growth in your powers, but there's really no need to rush."

Something was niggling at her, though.

"... Why are you in such a hurry, anyway? You're already a Level 2 esper, and an esper possessing a rather rare skill at that. I can't think of more than two people in the entirety of Academy City who have the ability 'Body Change'. It's a very rare ability, after all."

Satoshi looked up, as though lost in thought. Finally, after a moment, he turned his attention to her, his eyes reflecting the serious expression on his face.

"It's ... well, sensei, is there something in your life that you consider impossible, but have always wanted? Something that you'd always thought out of your reach?"

She nodded, a bit perplexed by where he was going with this. Surely it wasn't-

"Well, it's kinda the same with me and my esper abilities."

"But you've had your abilities since you were 8 years old!" she protested.

"Well, yeah," he said, slowly swirling the milk in his cup. "But it's something I've always wanted, you know? Ever since I could think about it, really. The idea that you could just ... will something to happen, and it would happen? That's ... that's something incredible, don't you think? Something that really shouldn't be part of mundane, boring reality."

She smiled, amused at the awe he felt for what was to her a simple scientific phenomenon.

"It's not anything particularly amazing, you know. The science behind it has been rigourously explored for a long time now. It's just a fact of life, a law of the world, nothing more. That 'mundane, boring reality' encompasses this as well, after all."

He looked at her again, and this time his expression was strange. Amusement, coupled with nostalgia, was what she saw. She wondered why he looked at her like that.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Anyway, sensei, thanks for your help. And about the class ... I know we made a really bad impression on you, but those guys mean well, you know? Please don't hold what they did against them - they really mean well!"

He was so earnest. Unbidden, a smile formed upon her face.

"Don't worry, I won't. You really care about them, don't you?"

He scoffed, a tinge of red on his face belying his embarrassment.

"That's not true at all. They're just a bunch of brats. But ... I don't want them to have problems because of it, you know? They'll grow up in time."

Just a bunch of brats. She smiled internally, aware of what he wasn't saying, what he was hiding. Still, she'd allow him the lie - she was supposed to be a 'kind teacher' after all.

"Very well. I'll see you later, Fudou-kun. And I'll take your words to heart - don't worry."

"Thank you, Kiyama-sensei. And, um ... thank you for the time you took to listen to me. You didn't have to do that."

But she did. And she hadn't minded at all, in the end. He was a good kid, this Fudou Satoshi.

Kiyama Harumi left, her impression of her class a little improved. She was wrong though - he wasn't a good kid at all. To be honest, he couldn't really be called a kid.

Because a lifetime ago, Fudou Satoshi had not been Fudou Satoshi. He'd just been an average college student who'd run afoul of some bad luck and a bomb, and not come out of it alive.

Fudou Satoshi was the subject of an experiment - and the experiment had already started.


	2. Tragedy Strikes

_"Is there anything I have to do, to begin with?"_

_The words left his lips, almost of their own volition. He was about to embark on a journey of a lifetime, of a thousand lifetimes. It seemed odd to not do something more for the ability, for the honor._

_"No. Remain as you are, I will make the final preparations." The being moved towards the liquid-filled apparatus that currently held him, the instrument through which this would all be realized._

_They had talked, after the offer had been made. About what he might see, what he might experience. About the technology that went into making such an experiment possible, and the implications of its existence with regards to the being's species and civilization._

_Some truths had been revealed. The being did not have a civilization, as such. He _was_ the civilization, the conglomeration of all knowledge and spirit of his race and reality, a being beyond the scope and imagination of man. He was the zenith of all creation, the purportedly highest state those without Seeds could aspire to._

_And that was why he was running this experiment - to see if there was something _more_._

_The student was not the only one involved in the experiment, of course. There were millions, if not billions of people, in the same scenario as him - all of them making up a sample size that the being considered good enough to satisfy the experiment. All of it, set up across countless realities, countless iterations of the being's own existence, just to set this up. It was child's play for it, but it filled the student with a sense of awe, imagining something like it existing._

_"The preparations are complete," came the voice of the being. "There is but one thing left to do."_

_The student raised his eyes, wondering what was left. The being completed the preparations, and seemed to alter reality through mental commands, manifesting and attaching links and other odds and ends to the vessel the student lay in, before finally-_

_It had to be done, though the student did not know it. If it were not done, the experiment would be influenced by an outside variable that hadn't been accounted for. It would no longer pristine._

_For just this once, the subject, the student, had to be made to forget. Forget the precise memories of his past life, that related to the realities he would visit. Forget this conversation he'd had with the being, for fear of being introduced to concepts he was not yet ready to know and implement._

_Forget that death was but an inconvenience to him, for he would lose the will to live, to hold on to life, if he knew it would only reset. He had to be strong. He had to be determined._

_He had to be a survivor._

* * *

The orphanage that I lived at was a safe place to live in. A nice place.

Food? Three times a day, with snacks in the evening. Hygiene? Well, showers were allowed twice a week - the rest of the time, we used the public baths. Recreation? Well, we had quite a few games to play, and plenty of people to play them with.

It was a simple time, spent in a simple place. We were the wards of the city - refuse taken from the streets and given a higher purpose and standard of living. Certainly, the people who looked after us took care not to make us feel that way, but that was the truth. We were the unwanted, the unloved. Maybe that's why all of us were so exuberant in giving back to the city that let us be so much more than we would have been.

I remembered, of course. I remembered my family from my first life, loving, tolerant, and wonderful. It was a stark contrast to my family of this life, who'd tossed a child onto the streets because they felt they couldn't feed another mouth. Who knows, maybe they couldn't.

All I knew was that I was left out to die, unwanted trash that had no place in this world. It was the workers of Academy City who found me, who provided sustenance. I became another 'Child Error', the name given to the orphans that Academy City took in and took care of. The name may have sounded derogatory, but for us, it was a badge of honor. We belonged to the city, in the simplest sense possible. We were a part of this city's future, of its rise to glory and greatness. That's how we felt in the orphanage - that we were giving back to our saviors.

It was that feeling because of which we smiled when the tests came. Experiments, conducted on those who the world would not miss. It was obvious to anyone who was looking in from the outside, of course - but to us? To the children who'd been given the opportunity to live and be something more? It seemed like the least we could do.

I particularly welcomed the tests, because of what they were purportedly for. There was an opportunity there, a chance not all were blessed with. The opportunity to raise our esper level, to grow in power and stature and hence contribute more to the city. It was a chance to leave our mark, to be remembered, and I leapt at it like it was a lifeline - like it kept me happy and sane after the troubles of my childhood in this second life.

Here, as a Child Error, I'd first gained the power I now sought to develop. 'Body Change', they called it. A rare and intriguing ability, it allowed the user to alter their body in any way the saw fit - or at least, it did at the higher levels. I'd started as a Level 2, and was close to reaching Level 3. At my level, I could modify, to a minor extent, parts of my body. I could make it larger or smaller, weaker or stronger. I could change its color and make, or even its composition, if I focused hard enough.

It was little more than a parlor trick right now, but I had dreams, and large ambitions to go with them. I wouldn't be content with just being a Level 2 - I'd go on to be the best of the best, a member of the elite. I'd be a Level 5 - someone destined for great things. Someone _capable_ of great things.

I wouldn't be a nobody. I wouldn't be 'average'. Somehow, that idea had taken a firm hold of me - to be exceptional, always. And with the help of the researchers? I could be.

* * *

Edisaki Banri was a curious child.

She'd been like that since she'd first been placed in the orphanage. With doe eyes flitting about everywhere, she'd take in the world around her and try to understand it. To her, everything had a place and purpose, and she didn't like it when things weren't in their proper place.

Which was a rather polite way of saying she was something of a bossy little brat when the mood struck her.

Just as all things had their proper place, she believed all people too had their proper place. Not in the way the arrogant would claim the same, no - she believed that people needed to be with people, that politeness and friendliness were the ways to behave in life. Introverts and loners had no place in her world, and to that end she'd make sure they'd have friends who would be with them and drag them out of their isolation, if needed.

For this reason, Fudou Satoshi was a real problem for Banri.

"Satoshi-kun! Come on, join us!"

The children of the orphanage were gathered in the middle of the playground, getting ready to play a game. Satoshi wasn't sure _what_ said game was, but he had little interest in finding out. Their shambling legs, the pushing, the shoving - it was all very sweet, really. Very evocative of the bonds of friendship, of fun and laughter.

And also, so. very. childish.

Satoshi sighed, already turning around to leave. His body was that of a child, but his mind remembered being an adult. It was simply too awkward to interact with the children of the orphanage.

Of course, not everyone agreed with this. Which was why he immediately started running, already anticipating what happened next.

"Wha- Hey! Satoshi-kun! Come on, it's not so bad, you should play with us once in a while!"

And with that, the chase was on. It had happened numerous times so far, Banri insistent on getting him to interact with the other children, while he was just as insistent on being left alone. It had actually turned into a game of sorts for the other kids - some interested in helping Banri so they could talk more with their reclusive Child Error, while others thought she was being too bossy and hence helped Satoshi out. Ironically, this had actually resulted in Satoshi making the few friends he had - friendships borne out of a shared condemnation of Edisaki Banri's bossy attitude.

Satoshi idly altered the muscles in his feet, making them stronger, more powerful, and shot ahead at speeds that were almost superhuman. He tensed and leapt over the 8 foot tall fence serving as the perimeter of the playground, landing easily on the other side, his momentum unaffected. Banri meanwhile had to resort to running over to the gate, unlocking it and moving on - all of which left her far behind him.

It should have ended at that, yet Banri immediately and unerringly followed his trail, utterly unaffected by his attempt to shake her off. Her own ability, telepathy, may have had a limited range - but as long as he was within its range, he could do nothing to stop her from following him.

This game had been played several times over the years, each time testing the two children's abilities to their limits. Unknown to either participant, the game had served a rather greater purpose - the constant use and exertion put on their abilities during these impromptu chases had actually boosted their esper ability - relatively marginally, but they were significantly more attuned to them than was normal for children of their age.

The rest of the kids followed after the two, each cheering for the side they wanted to win. In the end, it turned into a free-for-all, as each child tried to stymie the efforts of the others, doing their best to get in everyone's way. No one knew who ever won these little chases, because it always devolved into chaos - unadulterated, enjoyable chaos. Another game for the kids to play. Another way for them to act their age, to interact with their peers. Another way to enjoy themselves, in a world that had already taken much from them.

Satoshi didn't even notice when he joined in the laughter. He didn't even realize that his protestations of joining the other kids rang hollow, that the awkwardness he believed should have been there simply vanished. He didn't realize when he himself became a child, living in the moment.

He didn't realize when he himself started living just to live. To enjoy himself, and not for some purpose. Not like he'd been since this second life had started, scrounging for survival. Not like he'd been since he'd become a Child Error, striving for greatness. In this moment, as he laughed with the other children and ran away from Banri, who was also laughing ... he didn't even realize that he was simply enjoying life.

That was the way his childhood went - full of strife and difficulty in the beginning, and full of joy and friendship, from the moment he joined the orphanage. That was his life.

... Until he turned fourteen, anyway. Then things went horribly, _horribly_ wrong.

* * *

It should have been a routine test.

Just like always, the kids from the orphanage had been ushered into the testing chamber. They'd changed their clothes, dressing up in the medical smock that was designed for them. They'd laid down on the beds, trusting their sensei to do right by them.

Their sensei ...

... who'd failed them.

"-dopamine levels dropping-"

She stood there, staring.

"-Anticholinergic injections aren't having any effect!-"

The red, blaring sound of the siren was like a hammer to her heart. Unaware of anything else ...

... she just stood there.

"-the thermal trauma is inducing hypovolemic shock!-"

Unaware of the world around them.

Unaware of the panicking researchers around her, trying to salvage the situation.

She simply stood there.

The teacher who had failed to protect her students.

She didn't react, as they tried to inject lactic acid into the children's bodies, to counteract the experiment's effects on the children. She didn't react when one of the researchers moved to call the hospital .

It was only when she heard him being denied, that she reacted. She turned towards the head researcher for the project, Kirihara Gensei, who was even now-

"I'll issue a gag order on the facility with regards to the experiment. The experiment was completed successfully, and you saw nothing wrong. Got it?"

-reaping the 'rewards' of the situation, uncaring of the children suffering in the floor beneath.

She opened her mouth, but no words came out. What was this? _What was this?!_ Were they really going to do this? Were they really going to sacrifice these children for a simple scientific breakthrough? Were they really so heartless as to _kill_ children for regard and reward?

"Kiyama-kun, you did well."

She trembled, shock and outrage fighting for dominance. She was paralyzed, her body unable to decide on what to do. She simply stood there, trembling, as he continued on.

"It's a pity we lost them, but they were sacrifices in the name of science." The man named Kirihara Gensei said, with a smile.

She trembled, about to shout, about to do anything to object to this despicable act-

-but her attention was taken up by something else. The screen in front of her, monitoring the lifesigns of the test subjects ... there was something strange going on. While most of the life signs were diminishing, and diminishing rapidly at that-

-one was behaving erratically. Too erratically. One of them ... was _fighting_.

* * *

He didn't want to die.

More than anything else, this thought blared in his head.

_I don't want to die_.

The experiment had started off well. He'd gone through the routine check-ups, the routine exercises. However, they'd added something new to it this time around, and that-

-That, had been too much.

His brain was shutting down, he could tell. He could tell it clearly, his ability outlining his body in such detail that a human mind would find it impossible. He was dying, and he _didn't want that_.

He strained. He pushed himself to the limit. His power, 'Body Change', manifested it's full might, attempting to fix the physical damage done to him. The increasingly powerful AIM field surrounding him was playing havoc with his ability, however, and it was getting more and more difficult to control.

He would still keep trying, however. He _refused_ to give up, not after gaining a second chance. Not again - he wouldn't die again!

His mind expanded further, growing more and more focused on the task before him. He pushed himself to the limit again and again, until finally - a barrier in his mind broke.

And his body ... changed.

* * *

"What on ...?"

Kirihara Gensei stared at the readings he was obtaining from the instrument, amazed at what he was seeing.

The experiment had been to produce what was known as 'overdriven' espers - espers whose abilities had been forcefully increased via submersion in extremely strong AIM fields. It was a flawed theory, he knew. It would be impossible to improve espers that way - it was far too crude a method. Still, even with that, he'd proceeded with the experiment, because he'd known he'd get some interesting data, if nothing else.

But this ... this was unexpected.

"That boy ... is he actually resonating with the field?"

It was impossible. He'd checked the variables himself. Such a result should have been impossible, even if it was what the less knowledgeable researchers had thought would happen.

So how? How was this boy defying conventional wisdom this way?

Everything was a puzzle to Kirihara Gensei, and life was no different. If something mysterious happened in life, something you could not explain, then you were simply not trying hard enough. Even as Kiyama Harumi seemed to snap out of her fugue and rapidly began disengaging the experiment - a futile effort, considering the damage had long been done, and that it would continue to compound itself without external influence - he reviewed the boy's files.

Body Change. The words struck out at him, telling him what he needed to know. An almost unique ability, its specifics were as yet unexplored. If his body could change at whim, if he was predisposed to evolution and adaptation as necessary for survival, then perhaps ...

He smiled. There was an opportunity here - an opportunity he wouldn't dismiss. Perhaps his efforts to reach Level 6 did not lie in the crystallized sample he kept in his office, but in this boy who was even now fighting for his life. Fighting, and growing more and more powerful by the second.

Yes. There was definitely something there - something integral to his research. And if further research needed the boy ...

... Then he would have him.

* * *

The experiment was eventually shut down. The children, save Satoshi, had been rendered comatose, and had been transferred to another facility for treatment.

The prognosis was not good, he knew. They were unlikely to be cured, not by anything Academy City could currently do. That much he'd been able to determine, even lying in bed as he was.

Hmph. Lying in bed. As though he were injured in some way. He was perfectly fine, physically. He'd already healed himself of all his injuries using Body Change, the moment he'd come back to consciousness.

Physically, he was fine. Mentally ...

He remembered. He remembered the faces of all his friends, who'd been with him for nearly half his life. He remembered their smiles, he remembered their grinning faces and jokes and pranks and tricks.

A bunch of brats. That's all they were. Just a bunch of brats.

The door opened, and he turned to it. Kiyama Harumi walked in, her stance hesitant, her form shaken. She didn't look good - there were dark circles under her eyes, and there was a sense of guilt about her.

Guilt? What did she have to be guilty of?

"It wasn't your fault, you know," he said, as much to make conversation as to make a point. "You couldn't have predicted what happened."

She didn't say anything for a moment, just content to stare at him. And then ...

"Couldn't I?" she mumbled, gaze still firmly fixed on him. "What kind of researcher am I, that I couldn't identify the risks of this experiment? What kind of _teacher_ am I, that I let my students subject themselves to this?"

"It's not your fault," he repeated. "There was nothing you could have done. As Child Errors, we have a duty to the city. We were taken in by the city, given safety and happiness, and this is how we have to repay the favor. You know that."

"You shouldn't have to repay anything. You're children! You should - you should be free to live your lives, the way you want."

"What _should_ happen rarely ever happens", he drily commented. "We were happy enough with the arrangement, and that was enough."

She doesn't say anything for a moment, lips pursed in thought. She likely doesn't agree with him, but that's fine - he doesn't expect her to.

"I've decided to adopt you."

Well. That came out of nowhere.

"_What?!_"

"It's not such a bad idea, is it? With what happened to everyone else ..."

She doesn't need to say anymore. He understands, likely more than she intends him to.

What she probably intends is for him to assume she simply wants to keep a piece of the class, a piece of her students, with her. That she doesn't want to just let go of those times.

Her actual reason, however, has likely more to do with him being a Child Error. The experiments won't just stop, after all - not for a Child Error. In fact, with his success at surviving the experiment, he was likely to be under far greater scrutiny.

She wanted to spare him that. He knows it, knows it just like he knows the guilt she feels over finding it necessary to do, when once she would have just thought of it as something that simply happened.

"... Alright. I'll ... I'll accept."

She smiles, for just a moment, at his words, before her tired look returns.

"Thank you. I'll ... I'll take good care of you, I promise."

"It's alright - I don't expect much."

"You should! You should expect the world, like any child should. Don't ... don't be afraid to ask me for anything, alright?"

Ask her anything? Then ...

He thinks of his friends, his fellow Child Errors. He remembers their smiles, remembers their grinning faces, their jokes, their games, their pranks and their tricks.

_A bunch of brats. That's all they were ..._

"Sensei ...", he says, his voice choking just a little.

_A bunch of brats._

He looks at her, and there are tears on his face.

"Please. Please save them."

"I will", she says, hugging him tight. "I promise, I'll save them all."

* * *

Kiyama Harumi leaves after a little while, and it doesn't take long for the next visitor to come.

Kirihara Gensei is smiling, his face and aura that of a kindly grandfather. His expression is congenial, and in his hands he holds a basket full of fruits, likely as a peace offering.

He isn't fooled for a second.

"Save the act. We both know what you're here for."

The old man scowls, showing his true colors for a moment, before he puts the basket down.

"That Kiyama," he mutters, as though oblivious to your presence. "She really messed things up, didn't she?"

"Yeah," Satoshi smiles. "Yeah, she did."

"You're not a Child Error, anymore. As such, I have no official sanction to use you as a test subject. However-"

"Save it."

He cuts him off. The old man is likely about to try and appeal to his scientific curiosity first. Then will come the bribes, followed by the threats and blackmail. He knows this song and dance, he's learnt it on the streets before he joined the orphanage.

"Listen you brat-"

"No, you listen. I accept."

For a moment, there's a pin-drop silence in the room. Kirihara seems to be unable to believe his own ears.

"You ... accept?"

"Yeah, I accept."

Kiyama Harumi would try, certainly. She'd do everything she could to save those kids, he had no doubt. But he didn't intend for her to be alone in this. He didn't intend for her to launch a one-woman crusade against Academy City, just for those brats.

"I need to get sronger."

Not alone.

"And you ... you can make me strong."

Not by herself.

"I know, that if I agree, it will probably hurt. That I'll probably be subjected to numerous uncomfortable experiments, dangerous experiments. But I also know that they'll make me a stronger esper."

And if he was a stronger esper ... could he, perhaps, fix the other Child Errors with his 'Body Change'?

Maybe. Maybe not. But ... it was worth a try.

He extended his hand, and the old man greedily grasped it. The deal was struck. Pain for power, horror for hope.

He'd do whatever he could to save them, after all.

They were just a bunch of brats - but they were _his_ brats.

* * *

A/N: Righto, so the second chapter's done. I'd put a disclaimer in, but I'm fairly sure everyone knows I don't own To Aru ... or do I? *DUN DUN DU- Yeah, okay, I don't.

Anywho, thanks for Mordat, a guest reviewer, who pointed out a few mistakes in my earlier chapter. Really, I'd be grateful if you guys would do the same. Even if it's just to say you liked the story - it'd really encourage me to hear that.

Right. I'm out. Hopefully the next chapter will be up quicker.


	3. Musings and Meetings

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next few years went by rather slowly.

By agreeing to Kihara's proposition, I'd condemned myself to years and years of suffering. Time spent screaming, as my body was riddled with drugs and cocktails, needles and scars. Time spent in suffering, as I forced my body to move step by step, forcing it to work against the restraints and constraints designed by Kihara and his team.

All this time, and I was still no closer to saving the lives of my fellow Child Errors than I'd been at the start.

The experiments _were_ useful in a certain way, however. I definitely grew stronger, as I subjected my body and power to greater and greater strains, trying desperately to gain the power I needed to save the kids. I'd started the experiments as a solid Level 4 - the 'Level', in my case, being determined by 'scope of change', 'scale of change', and 'form of change'. It wasn't long before I'd advanced further - first, to the very limits of what a Level 4 could achieve ...

... And finally, to Level 5. The elite of the elite.

My training didn't just consist of experiments, of course. The strongest espers are also often the smartest - as our esper abilities grow, our mind grows sharper and more powerful as well. There were rumors that the strongest Level 5, Accelerator, could accurately map out the magnitudes and directions of all the vectors governing cellular motion in the human body, and their vector sum, with just his mind. I don't know if it was _true_, but just the fact that people were willing to accept it as being _possible _said something.

What was my point with this little tangent? Well, 'Body Change', my ability, had very few actual limits to it - when not restricted by being dependent on a creature of flesh and blood, that is. As such, I was rigorously tutored in math, science and various other subjects - but primarily, in chemistry and biology. I learnt about matter, from it's basic building blocks to it's many varied forms. Elements, compounds and mixtures were basic stuff that I'd already learnt in detail before the experiments had started - the experiments took it a step further, seeing if 'Body Change' could expand to the sub-atomic level.

As it turned out? It could. Even if it was extremely difficult trying to calculate the various specifics involved in most situations, I _could_ manage advanced calculations on the fly. Well, maybe. Would you believe a little? No? Well, you'd be wrong then, because I definitely could manage those calculations!

A little.

In any case, I learnt to alter my body on a more fundamental level over the two years I was experimented on. From my individual cells, to the various organelles comprising each individual cell, right down to the atomic structure of any object I touched, including myself - I could change them all. My whole body had already been altered by me. I took inspiration from a lot of things - bees, beetles, birds, etc. All sorts of fauna, and flora as well. I learnt about exotic materials, such as carbon nanotubes and medigel, and learnt to integrate them into my body. More than that, I learnt about _what, _precisely, allows such materials to possess the properties they do - and this allowed me to surpass what was naturally possible in changing my body.

I could move several times faster than sound. I could strike with the force of a small nuke. I could lift buildings and toss them miles. I could shrug off artillery strikes!

I was also a _goddamn bitch_ when compared to Accelerator, who took every chance he had to gleefully put me in my place. Just in case I developed any ideas.

Still, as might be expected, my abilities weren't going to be allowed to go to waste. And since Academy City was often the target of espionage and assault ... well, it would have been a waste not to use my abilities.

Or so they tell me. I'm not sure if they thought it would make me feel better about being a murderer, or if they were just that socially retarded. I like to think it was the latter - god knows it made more _sense_ that way.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"G-Gah!"

A scream resounded throughout the area, as one of the soldiers of the team was sent flying. His flight - and life - was abruptly terminated when he collided with the wall of a building at full force, shattering his spine and skewering his lungs and heart with bone.

Gunfire erupted from the remaining soldiers, all of them targeting the figure slowly walking towards them, his hands in his pockets. None of the gunfire even penetrated the clothes the person was wearing, however - all of it bouncing off what seemed to be simple cotton and fabric.

The person in question pointed his hand at them, and his fingers expanded in a moment. Like bullets, they shot forward, invisible to the eye, and penetrated the foreheads of all the soldiers, instantly killing them. A few surviving soldiers, looking on from the rooftops, immediately fired at the person's position with missile launchers - only to hit a rapidly formed dome of flesh and metal, delivering their payload harmlessly. The next moment, the person beneath them was among them, his hands elongating to several meter wide scythes which flashed about, decapitating and dismembering the soldiers in a moment.

The latest insurgence into Academy City by hostile forces had been thwarted, more or less. All that was left was to clean up the few tanks they'd also managed to get through the blockade, and things would be back to normal.

Normal. As though anything would ever be normal. The person who'd just conducted this gruesome slaughter looked at his scythe-like hands with disgust, flicking the blood of them and then shifting them into a more normal form.

That done, he blurred, shattering the ground around him and the windows of the buildings near him as he went supersonic, moving in the direction of the tanks and striking them before they could turn in his direction. In the next few moments, the entirety of the assault force had been dismantled, the tanks little more than wrecks.

He'd done it. Another little test passed. Another little murder session completed. He couldn't help the bitterness that overtook him in these moments, couldn't stop his thoughts from turning dark.

A wonderful job, Kihara would say. He'd praise him, his pet project, and then continue the debasing and painful experiments like nothing had happened. His mother, Kiyama Harumi, would welcome him home, expecting he'd simply gone out with his friends, rather than conduct a massacre of helpless soldiers. She didn't know, after all - he'd taken great pains not to let her know. She didn't need the added guilt she'd no doubt feel - not when she already felt guilty enough for the Child Errors she still hadn't saved. Not when she'd given him so much - given him stability, and love, and a place to belong. He couldn't do that to her.

He trudged back to the lab, spirits as damp as ever. So. This was what it meant to be 'strong', he thought. To be a Level 5.

Apparently, it felt and was little different from being a murderer.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"... I'm sorry, what?"

Immediately after completing his assigned mission, Satoshi had returned to the lab, expecting more experiments and testing.

He hadn't quite been expecting this, however.

"We're done. For now, we've extracted all the data we could possibly get from you. While we expect you to still come here for adjustment and enhancement, the more invasive tests would serve no purpose anymore. You're free to leave."

With these words, Kihara Gensei turned around and began walking out of the lab, followed shortly after by his assistants.

_Well. That was unexpected._

Usually, immediately after he completed one of the tasks he'd be assigned to, he'd be subjected to a battery of tests. It was where most of the time he spent in the Institute went, after all. To be free of that was ...

... actually rather scary, come to think of it. He had nothing much to _do_ besides these tests, and Ki- ... _mother_, wouldn't expect him to be back soon.

If he had nothing to do, though ... well, why not simply explore Academy City? Hadn't he always been interested in the technological advances that had been made possible in Academy City, compared to those in his reality? It seemed like the thing to do.

Mind made up, Satoshi headed in the direction of Nagatenjouki Academy, already planning on exploring the area around his school more thoroughly this time around. If nothing else, this evening promised to be illuminating.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shirai Kuroko was having a bad day.

It wasn't anything particular that made this a bad day. It was a lot of little things, niggling little details that were typically missed or glossed over that were making this day unbearable. From the torn clothes in the morning, to the spilled drink in the afternoon - things really weren't going her way.

It was thus probably to be expected that the moment she put on her Judgement armband, her day got even worse.

First, there had been the debacle involving the robber and her inability to help. She would have stopped him in an instant with her powers, if her senpai Konori Mii hadn't held her back and told her not to. It wasn't their jurisdiction, she'd argued. They'd called Anti-Skill, and the robber had been captured in short order, but Kuroko was incensed that she couldn't help protect the peace the way she'd dreamed of doing, that day when she'd first put on her Judgement armband. It had been her first interaction with the criminal element of the city, and she'd been incensed that she still wasn't given the opportunity to directly help a year after joining Judgement. She hated being treated like a child!

And now ... now she was in even greater trouble.

The first robber, the one who'd been caught by Anti-Skill, was little more than a particularly enterprising Level 0 who'd been running a purse-snatching business. Nothing particularly dangerous, or threatening.

That wasn't the case with this pair of robbers. While she'd successfully disabled the first robber quite easily, the second one ...

"What an idiot ... what's he doing getting beat up by a kid?"

She stared, mortified, as he took Uiharu hostage, a knife flashing out to be held under her neck. As tears escaped Uiharu's eyes at her situation, he seemed to only get more and more amused.

Despite herself, Kuroko couldn't help but let out a shout, horrified at how the situation had turned out.

"Uiharu!"

"Oh, so you know this girl? Well, that makes things even easier, doesn't it?" The robber smirked, finding even greater amusement at the situation and how things were going.

"Right then. You're with Judgement, aren't you? From what I've heard, Judgement don't abandon hostages, particularly people they know. Is there anyone else with you? Now's the time to come out!"

While he was taunting and making his demands, one of the post office workers at the post office being robbed managed to press the panic button. Alarms started ringing throughout the building and the shutters came down, locking everyone inside.

It was the wrong choice to make. It put the customers' lives in jeopardy, all for money. Still, in the heat of the moment, the worker had panicked and done as his training dictated. It was a mistake anyone could make.

But it wasn't making the lives of those caught inside any easier.

"Who was it?! Who did that?! Come on, tell me - or this chick here gets it!"

While the customers in the post office started to panic at the threat, a cool voice emerged from the ground.

"**Lockdown activated. Beginning security procedures to deal with intruders. Non-lethal force authorized."**

A security robot. She chanced a glance at the robber, where he was holding Uiharu hostage. This had the chance to be really bad, but maybe it could work in their favor.

The robot began to move rapidly in the direction of the robber, and Kuroko ran with it. If she could get close - if she could just reach something to teleport into the man once she got close enough-

It would work out just fine.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It didn't work out well.

The robot lay smashed, the top of its body sheared away by knives. Konori Mii lay unconscious on the ground, her head smashed against the wall and bleeding, her body stabbed with knives. Kuroko ... Kuroko lay on the ground, her foot broken from when the robber had brutally smashed her heel in with his own foot. The bones in her right hand were also broken, from when the robber had stepped on it with his foot. Her whole body was a bruised mess, and she was in a lot of pain.

But she'd managed to get Uiharu out, so there was something at least.

The robber took another step forward, amusement shining out of his eyes.

"Let me guess what you're thinking. 'If I keep him occupied, he won't be able to take any hostages. Since he's trapped in here, when Anti-Skill comes, he'll definitely be caught. I just have to wait it out'. Right? Well, let me just crush that delusion for you."

He removed a steel ball from his pocket, and idly tossed it at the gates. The ball, contrary to all logical expectations, held its speed until the end, where it slammed into the thick steel shutter ...

... and _burst straight through it_.

"Equal speed. Whatever I throw, maintains it's speed until I stop it or it breaks. Interesting ability, no?"

He smirked, laughing happily at the despondent face Kuroko made at finding out that he wasn't really trapped in here at all.

Unseen, a fly buzzed into the post office.

"So, as you can see, I'm not really trapped here.

... Tch. There's hardly any time left. Oi, use your power to remove all the cash from the ATMs. If you help me, I'll let everyone go. Actually, how about you joined up with me? If we worked together, we'd be invincible! How about it?"

Kuroko stood up, her face shaded and form silent. She staggered for a moment, as though from the pain, before standing straight up.

"I ..."

The man leaned in, listening to her words.

"... absolutely refuse! What, join up? Sorry, pathetic cowards who'd attack a post office aren't really my type. Besides, my heart is already set. My justice ... will never waver!"

The man sighed, seemingly annoyed at her answer.

"That so? Too bad."

Kuroko tensed, expecting an attack at any moment, before she rushed forward. The man took that as his cue, and immediately ... released a dozen metal balls in her direction, all under the influence of his ability.

He laughed. "I never said I could only use my ability with one ball at a time, did I?"

They were moving too fast, and they wouldn't slow down if she tried to teleport them. She couldn't dodge-!

A form blurred into existence, and all the metal balls seemed to spontaneously shatter.

"Right then, thanks for opening the door, retard-!"

Kuroko was having a very bad day.

It was the only way she could explain her mysterious rescuer suddenly being washed away in a burst of superheated plasma and metal.

And this was how Kiyama Satoshi met Misaka Mikoto - the Railgun.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Misaka Mikoto froze.

She'd been convinced by the crying girl outside to help, and hence had prepared her Railgun accordingly. She knew the robber's power with the demonstration he'd just given, and knew what she had to do to counter it. It had seemed so simple, before.

It didn't seem that simple now.

The moment he'd tossed those metal balls at the girl, she'd flipped up a coin and prepared to fire her Railgun. Her thumb had already been moving when the balls had just shattered, as though _something_ had destroyed them too fast for her to see. She'd been unable to halt her shot when the image of a man had resolved in front of her eyes, unable to stop herself from firing the railgun as he'd started talking. As a consequence, he'd taken her Railgun head-on.

_Head-on_. There was ... no way a human could have survived after being hit like that. She'd ... she'd just killed someone. Someone who, by all accounts, had just been trying to help.

She trembled, horror, disgust and self-loathing flaring throughout her body, vying for control. She felt dizzy, nauseous. Her hand shook, as she fully took in what had just happened.

Her legs folded under her, as she collapsed, unable to bear what she'd just done. Lying on her knees, she tried to come to terms with what had just happened, and failed.

Which was about when a voice resounded from inside the post office.

"O-Ow. What the hell?! What just happened?!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Kuroko stared.

It had all happened so quickly. One moment she'd been blindsided by the numerous simultaneous attacks the robber had deployed, the next all of the attacks had been nullified. Her savior, the one who'd destroyed the attacks, had been about to say something when he'd been washed away in a blaze of light.

Was ... was he dead? It had happened too quickly for her to keep up, and she couldn't help the shock and disorientation that spread over her.

"O-Ow. What the hell?! What just happened?!"

Apparently not.

She turned in his direction, observing the spiderweb of cracks that seemed to have formed over the top left side of his face from the shot. His eye ... his left eye was _gone_. As the bile inside her rose at the sight, she stared in wonder as his face seemed to twist and _bend_, reconstructing itself.

_What on earth ..._

There was nothing else she could say. She'd never seen an esper ability like that before, nor even heard of it.

The robber took this time to return to his senses, and immediately brought out another group of metal balls, which he flung at Kuroko and the would-be savior. Then, turning around, he started to run out-

-Only to hit a fist that popped out of nowhere to block his path. He crumpled, and as he fell, he was able to see the shattered remains of his attacks lying on the floor, destroyed in an instant.

For a moment, there was only silence in the post office. Then-

"Ah, forget it. I'll deal with the bastard that shot me later. Hey, girl, was anyone wounded by those robbers? Anyone I can help?"

Still reeling from the speed at which everything had happened, Kuroko could only point at Konori Mii, her senior who'd been stabbed and badly hurt in the head during the earlier altercation.

"Alright, I'll handle her. But first, let me tend to you. Fair warning, this is going to hurt."

His hand reached forwards, and touched her forehead. For a moment, she wondered what he was trying to do, only to get her answer in the next moment.

With a brutal snap, her broken bones seemed to fuse in place and reset themselves, her torn skin fixed itself, and the bruises that had formed disappeared. She held back a scream at the sudden healing, and in moments it was done.

Eyes wide, she stared at herself, amazed at how the grievous wounds she'd suffered had just vanished. It was as though she'd never been hurt in the first place.

"Why were you trying so hard to save everyone, anyway? You might be a capable esper, but you're still a kid."

Kuroko bristled at that.

"I may be a 'kid', but I'm still a member of Judgement. There's no way I would have stood around doing nothing when a crime was being committed!"

A strange expression seemed to cross Satoshi's face at that.

"Judgement, huh? Isn't that the organization of students responsible for maintaining inter-campus order? Why would Judgement be tasked with handling adult criminals?"

Kuroko frowned. While that was technically true ...

"Judgement's MO has long since been unofficially expanded from that. In those cases where the threat is deemed minimal, Judgement can interfere by themselves to stop criminals and help people. Even beyond that, Judgement is authorized to assist Anti-Skill in evacuation and civilian management in emergencies, so it's not like we're just meant to help students. Judgement's role is to help all the law-abiding people of Academy City, and to help curb crime!"

"... Help people, huh?"

Those words. They resonated with him.

He was just a murderer, a criminal that should be caught and dealt with. But ... he didn't _want_ to be just a murderer.

In that case ... wasn't the choice to make rather simple?

"... Eh, whatever. Come on kid, let's heal your senior."

"Don't call me kid!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After handling the rest of the injuries and waiting for Anti-Skill to arrive, Satoshi left to go home. He'd done enough exploring for the day.

The girl he'd been talking to, Shirai Kuroko, had met up with her friend Uiharu afterwards. He'd been a little surprised - Uiharu had been the person who'd been screaming outside the post office for help. He hadn't known she was connected to one of the primary participants involved in that mess.

Whatever they had been talking about, it had seemed important, so he'd made to leave. Before that, however, Kuroko had talked him into giving her his name and contact details - 'just in case', she'd said. That said, she'd seemed quite interested in his power, and he'd seen her hypothesizing with her senior about it just before he'd left.

She'd also seemed to look up to him. It had been nice, that. Even if he didn't deserve that kind of respect, it warmed his heart to know that someone besides his mother thought of him as more than another cog in the machine. As more than just a murderer.

He hadn't been able to get very far, before being stopped again. This time by a girl dressed in the middle school uniform for Tokiwadai Middle School.

"I'm sorry!"

The girl bowed after she said this, all of it just meriting a raised eyebrow from Satoshi. He had no idea what she was apologizing for in the first place, so he could hardly be blamed for being a bit weirded out by the strange girl.

"... Do I know you?"

The girl flinched, and took a deep breath before replying.

"The ... well, the railgun shot that hit you. That was me. I'm ... I'm really sorry! I was aiming for the metal balls that robber was tossing, not you! It really was an accident!"

"... Oi. You know that if it had been anyone else, they'd have died, right?"

He was incredulous. Not only at what she'd done, but at how she was brave enough to open up to the man she'd almost killed.

The girl in front of him took a deep breath.

"Yeah. Yeah, I know. I'm ... I'm willing to accept whatever punishment you'd find acceptable, to make up for what I did. I ... I really am sorry. I just ... I couldn't stand the thought of just walking away after nearly killing someone due to my fault."

She was trembling, he noticed. She was likely very aware that the punishment he could demand from her could be very harsh, and she was still adamant about making amends.

This girl. He smiled again, in realization. This girl was brave. And honorable. He hadn't thought he'd meet two people like that in his little outing, but he was now glad he'd made the trip. It would have been worthwhile just for this.

"Alright. So any punishment I can think off, yeah?"

The girl nodded, still shaking. Out of fear, and possibly resignation.

But she was still willing to go through with this. That was ... admirable.

"Alright, then ..."

His hand extended, his finger reaching out slowly towards her. The girl closed her eyes, no doubt imagining the worst, when his finger reached her forehead-

-and flicked her.

"... Eh?"

"I don't believe in disproportionate retribution, you know? Your little attack did about that much damage to me, so I'll do the same amount of damage to you. Now we're even. That's fine, isn't it?"

The girl blinked ... before scowling.

"Like hell it did! I know it did a lot more damage than that!"

_Oi, oi, learn to read the mood a little, would you?_

"Then do you _want_ me to punish you harshly?"

The girl twitched for a bit, still trembling, before nodding.

"I'll do whatever's fair. Just ... just letting me go like this would be insulting. Though, you know, thanks for trying to let me just go like that ..." she muttered, mumbling.

"Alright, alright. So you want a proper punishment, huh?"

He looked around, trying to think of something suitable.

"Alright - to make up for the _momentary and negligible damage_ you managed to do to me, I hereby charge you with treating me to a place of my choosing for a week. Is that fine with you?"

To be honest, he was a little embarrassed with even asking. His allowance as a student of Nagatenjouki meant that he definitely wasn't strapped for cash, but this girl seemed interesting to know. He figured it'd be killing two birds with one stone - a chance to make a new friend, and also a chance to try out new dishes on someone else's pay. That was always fun, in this life or the one before.

The girl sighed.

"You're really not treating this seriously, are you?"

Her lips twitched after a moment, and a smile broke out on her face.

"It's alright, though. I don't mind treating you - it's the least I can do after all."

Well, with that settled, there was only one thing to ask.

"Right. I'll meet you in front of that post office at four in the afternoon tomorrow. That fine with you, ...?"

"Mikoto. Misaka Mikoto. And yeah, that's fine."

That name. Why did it seem familiar?

Well, either way, there was nothing else for it.

He returned her bow, and left, heading back home.

Or, rather, somewhere else. There was something he wanted to do ...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The procedure for joining Judgement wasn't all that complicated.

Yes, there was a period of preparation and training involved before the person in question could be accepted as a member of Judgement. Yes, there was continuous on-the-job training, which would further cut into the little free time he had left after the experiments. And yes, most Judgement duties involved boring patrol work or rather more simple jobs than crime fighting, which made becoming a Judgement member something of a chore ...

But the procedure to join itself wasn't all that complicated. You just needed signed permission from your guardian, absolving the city from any injury sustained while on duty, and providing tacit permission for their ward to participate in such activities. After that, it was just a matter of filling in a form with some basic information about the applicant, and you were good to go.

Well, that at least meant he couldn't keep his involvement in Judgement secret from his mother. Unless he planned to forge her signature, which was entirely too much trouble to be taken for so little benefit.

He figured it was best to get it out of the way right now.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dinner that night was the usual somber affair.

Kiyama Harumi tried, certainly, to be a good mother to her adopted child. And for the most part, she succeeded. She really did love him like a mother should, after all, and he wasn't a particularly difficult child to please. But she was a researcher before she was a mother, and there was always this part of her that felt awkward around children, as though she didn't know quite how to behave.

As such, 'family gatherings' were usually less warm and more ... cold. Logical. Rational. It was less like a family gathering, and more like two colleagues from work getting together to discuss their latest projects.

It was probably why the discussion started the way it did.

"I'm joining Judgement." Satoshi commented, out of the blue, in the middle of eating dinner.

Harumi seemed surprised at the sudden declaration, but didn't seem displeased.

"I'm glad," she said, a small smile forming over her face, "that you decided to do something so productive and helpful with your extra time. I really am proud of you."

Sometimes, Harumi would throw in these sentences, words designed to reinforce a child's self-esteem or mood. It was very much a mechanical and dry line, and she had undoubtedly gotten the idea from a book of some kind. Usually, it was awkward more than anything.

Not this time. Unbidden, a smile formed over Satoshi's face as well, mirroring the one on Harumi's.

Some part of him, it seemed, would always be that orphaned child craving acceptance that had been taken in by the city.

"Well? If I remember correctly, there should be some forms I need to sign for your acceptance, right?"

"Er, yeah. Just ... hold on, I'll show them to you after dinner."

"That's fine. Hopefully, you'll make some more friends in working as a member of Judgement. You always seem so ... distant from people."

Satoshi grimaced. She'd noticed.

Well, if it was friends she wanted him to have ...

"It's not like I don't have any friends, you know. I'm meeting a girl tomorrow, getting a small bite to eat."

"Oh? And who is this girl?"

That tone. That tone should have sent warning signs throughout his body.

It didn't. Sometimes, he could be really dense.

"Her name's Misaka Mikoto. I met her at the post office in the 7th district today."

"... Wasn't that post office robbed today?"

"Ah. Yeah. We ... met under interesting circumstances, you could say."

_Dodge the question, dodge the question. She probably won't be so amenable to the idea of me meeting her if she knew my first impression of Mikoto was of her railgun impacting the side of my face at lethal velocities._

"Interesting circumstances, you say?"

She smiled wistfully for a moment at that.

"Ah, young love."

_Wait, what?_

He idly retraced the conversation, seeing where she'd have gotten such an impression. Oh. Well, maybe he should have phrased things better ...

"Ah, no. No. There's no 'love' there, she's 13 years old, for crying out loud-"

"Why should her being 13 be a barrier to your dating?"

And there was the problem with having this talk with Harumi. She never really concerned herself with the societal or cultural problems involved in a problem, only the physical ones. It led to a rather skewed perspective on life.

"It's a social thing."

"Ah. So it's not just a matter of simply waiting for her to complete going through puberty, but also something societally unacceptable about dating a thirteen year old girl."

Yes, yes that was exactly it.

"And more importantly, we've just met. Neither of us would feel that way about the other right now, anyway, and it's unlikely for it to ever develop further. She's just a friend. Well, _hopefully_ she's at least a friend, by now, but I'm not even too sure about that ..."

"Oh? Why's that?"

_Because our only interaction so far has been with her blasting me with superheated plasma and me shanghaiing her into treating me for a week._

"No reason."

Dinner passed quietly after that.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N: Well, that's chapter 3 over and done with. Tell me what you guys think, yeah? One review seems a _little_ too little, you know?

Constructive criticism is appreciated. I know I've screwed up - I'll just try to be better when I'm told what to fix.


	4. A Wild Slider Appears!

A/N: Update. Please R&R!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or To Majutsu no Index. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction now, would I?

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Judgement was, in many ways, a disappointment._

_It was hardly the crime-fighting organization I'd originally envisioned it as, after listening to Kuroko. The general course of action to be taken on encountering a crime being conducted was not to interfere and try and stop the crime and catch the criminal, but to call for Anti-Skill backup. By and large, my duties as a member of Judgement were limited to curbing bullying and simple crimes like littering or jaywalking._

_Patrol duty was a pain too. The experiments had petered off since that day when I'd been told to go home early, so it wasn't like I had no time for it. But patrol duty was often just filled with boring, routine work, that resulted in absolutely nothing productive. Too often, it boiled down to just aimlessly wandering around a location, hoping to run into something interesting with which to brighten up my day._

_And it wasn't like Judgement was glamorous when it came to other jobs either. Judgement was effectively the bottom feeder when it came to law enforcement in Academy City, which meant all the menial tasks and errands typically fell to members of Judgement. Things like searching for lost merchandise, getting pets down from high locations, consoling crying and lost children - all fell under the umbrella of Judgement. It was, to be frank, quite demeaning - to go from handling special forces and the military of other nations, to finding a lost toy for a crying child._

_But ... it was fulfilling. Very fulfilling. I could look at myself in the mirror now, with pride. I could glance at the armband that I wore on my left shoulder, and know that I stood for something meaningful. For something good and just._

_I was no longer just a murderer. I was no longer just an instrument of Academy City, which they used to remove problems violently. I was somebody who kept the peace. I was somebody who helped people._

_And that was enough. That was ... more than enough._

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Satoshi, we have a situation."

"Yeah? Lay it on me, Mii."

"Kuroko's having some trouble dealing with a few espers in the 'Yamato 7' Aquarium, Seventh District. Do you know the place?"

'Yamato 7' Aquarium. A relatively quiet place - compared to a few other shops in the Seventh District anyway - located just outside the 'School Garden', that catered to enthusiasts of aquatic life. It was fairly expansive, really - with a large cafe, a water show, and more animal exhibits than could be found anywhere else in Academy City, it was one of the largest aquariums in Japan. The place also had numerous research labs, where oceanology courses were held and research was conducted in those fields.

"Yeah. I'll be there in a moment."

In an instant, his body transformed, metallic wings replacing arms, a sleek, metal body replacing flesh and bone, and jet turbines replacing hands. The next moment, he was rocketing off, transformed into a VTOL jet of his own design and making.

For some reason, the urge to hum a certain theme song on his loudspeakers was almost irresistible.

It didn't take him long to reach the aquarium, where he noticed a car making a speedy getaway from a rapidly teleporting Kuroko. They were moving rather fast - considering that Kuroko could cover about 70 meters in a second with ease, they were breaking the speed limit almost 3 times over.

Or were, anyway. The car stopped moving rather quickly, when he dropped like a ten ton metal ball in front of the car. Which, incidentally, he was, for the moment.

Unable to stop in time, the criminals found themselves smashing into the metal ball in front of them at well over a hundred miles an hour. This would have been the end for them, had the metal ball not turned into liquid moments before the crash, spreading above and through the car and trapping them in a now gelatinous ball of silver goo, that drastically arrested their momentum.

A part of the goo melted off from the main body, forming into a human body with a hand attached to the ball. At about this time, Kuroko finally caught up to the criminals.

She sighed, walking over to Satoshi as he dissolved the goo back into his body.

"Geez, senpai - you're way too heavy-handed about things."

She was smiling, though, a twitch of her lips the only indication of her state of mind.

"Hey, it was either this, or ... well, you don't want to know the other method I'd have tried for catching them."

She stared, slowly nodding as her mind went into overdrive, likely imagining what he was talking about.

"I'm sure I don't want to know."

"..."

"..."

"It involved tentac-"

With her hands over her ears, she viciously interrupted him.

"I don't want to know!"

Satoshi pouted, a bit annoyed at the missed chance to disgust his cute little junior. Turning, he twisted his finger into the form of a mobile phone, the internal mechanisms of which he'd exactly copied using his power.

"This is Satoshi. Criminals have been apprehended."

Over on the other side of the call, Konori Mii grinned.

"Good job, Satoshi. I'll call Anti-Skill in - you can return."

He grinned, before transforming - flesh and bone again twisting into metal and plastic. When he was done, a blue sports car stood where he had been standing.

His voice echoed from two built in loudspeakers, cleverly hidden among the headlights.

"Get in, Kuroko. I'll take you to where you want to go."

The girl giggled, before getting inside. She was used to this by now - he'd been serving as her chauffeur for quite some time now, usually just after they completed a case together.

"Ah, I can never get used to how convenient your ability is, Senpai. Body Change can be put to quite some use, can't it?"

He honked as if in affirmative.

"Still," she said, coyly. "I've been inside you many times by now, senpai. Oh, how you've corrupted this young lady~"

If a car would have been capable of it, he would have grimaced.

That Kuroko. She always had to make things creepy, didn't she?

Internally sighing, he moved on, taking her to Seventh Mist. Where they were supposed to meet up with Mikoto, and get the day truly underway.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_My first meeting with Misaka Mikoto had been a disaster. The next one?_

_Well ... that went surprisingly well._

_We met in front of D3n1 l, a restaurant/cyber-cafe that catered to the net-savvy students of Academy City. While technically she was supposed to be treating me, I'd let her pick the restaurant since I hadn't found any particularly to my liking in my explorations of the 7th district._

_The place was brand new, from what I was able to recall of it. A shining, glass menagerie, located amid the concrete jungle that was Academy City. The basic structure of the restaurant was fairly simple - the restaurant was divided into 24 booths, each one serving as a dining area as well as a computer hub. Each booth was completely isolated - they were very much like separate houses within the superstructure of the restaurant._

_It made me wonder what we were doing there. It was rather plain to see that it was a prime date location, given the privacy and relaxed atmosphere. Something of my expression must have alerted Mikoto to my thoughts, because she was quick to deny any romantic intentions on her part. Blushing, she explained that she'd been keen to check out the new restaurant on the block, mostly because of the combination of cyber-cafe and hang out spot it boasted._

_She was also quick to denounce me for letting my thoughts go in that direction, but considering where we were, I wondered how they __couldn't__ go there. Everywhere around us, you could see couples in love, holding hands or making googly eyes at each other. Every other booth seemed to be filled with people in love. I was getting the feeling I knew exactly the kind of clientele D3n1 l was trying to attract, and that we really didn't fit among them._

_Lunch was enjoyable, if nothing else. Body Change at my level means I don't actually have to eat all that much, if at all - conservation of energy and mass simply isn't a physical law that has any real hold on me. Still, the food was enjoyable, and I indulged, same as Mikoto. Besides, this was supposed to be her 'punishment' after all - it wouldn't do to hold back on her, right?_

_Mikoto seemed to enjoy the food as well, though she seemed to enjoy the web facilities and computers even more. It was also the first chance I had to see one of the scariest and most useful application of her electrical abilities - manipulation of electronic systems. The ease and skill with which she deftly handled the computers was nothing short of awe-inspiring - both in it's implications and for what it said of her electrical abilities._

_It was also my first indication that she wasn't just your average esper. No normal electromaster could do the things she could do, and she casually informed me when I asked that she was Level 5, just like me - apparently, she'd looked me up after meeting me the first time._

_Level 5. It was ... hard to believe. So far, I'd thought that all those who were Level 5 in their level of ability would be like me and Accelerator - monsters in human skin, both in ability and deed. Mikoto was so far from being a monster it was laughable, and I couldn't quite convince myself that it was all an act, one she put on to fool people like me. I was still hesitant to believe it, however - everything I knew told me that Mikoto couldn't be true, that a Level 5 couldn't just escape from the darkness of Academy City that beckoned those with power._

_Or maybe I just didn't want to believe it. Maybe I wanted to believe that what happened to me was only natural, that there was nothing that I could have done. It helped me ... deal with things. Deal with emotions, deal with broken dreams and ideals. I couldn't face the truth so easily - couldn't own up to the fact that what happened to me need not have happened. That I'd actually had a choice._

_Either way, I wasn't about to burden Mikoto with my problems. Either she was pretending, in which case I'd only be giving a rival ammunition ... or she wasn't, and I'd be damned before I dragged anyone into the darkness with me. I'd gone willingly into the dark to save people - it would be truly hypocritical of me to condemn someone to that kind of life._

_We talked, Mikoto and I. About school, about friendships, about our powers. Hopes, dreams, hobbies, habits - all of it and more were discussed casually and candidly between us, during the few hours we spent in that restaurant. It was enjoyable talking to someone about things like that, even if the conversation was reticent on my part. Mikoto cheerfully dragged me on, apparently unwilling for there to be any silence between us._

_It was enjoyable, that talk. We shared a lot with each other, and were trading jokes and good-natured barbs before the food had even arrived. We connected easily, and I could easily see her as a cherished friend, in time._

_That was the second time I met Misaka Mikoto. And in hindsight, it couldn't have gone any better._

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Eh? Senpai, what's wrong?"

Satoshi jerked to attention, thoughts returning to the present. He turned around to see Kuroko, who was looking at him with concern.

"Ah, sorry Kuroko. Must have nodded off for a moment there."

"You really need to get some more rest, Senpai," Kuroko said, sighing. "You're going to drive yourself insane one day, with how little you relax."

"I can rest-"

"-when I'm dead," Kuroko interrupted, frowning. "Yes, I know - you always say that. That doesn't mean you shouldn't take some time off now and then, you know - you really might end up dead if you keep pushing yourself."

A new voice cut in at that point, sharp and clear.

"What's this about Satoshi dying now?"

Satoshi turned to the top of the stairs leading into Seventh Mist. A girl dressed in the Tokiwadai Middle School summer uniform was descending the stairs, gaze fixed straight at them.

"Mikoto. Nice of you to finally arri-"

"ONEE-SAMA~!"

Yelling, Kuroko leapt onto Misaka, hugging her for all she was worth. Mikoto stoically bore the attention, though she started pushing Kuroko away after the first few seconds.

Kuroko'd been 'in love' with Mikoto since she'd first met her, way back at the beginning of her entry into Tokiwadai. There was a story there - a story that had started with an antagonistic Kuroko expecting the worst from Mikoto, and ended with the two of them becoming roommates.

Till now, he'd yet to understand what, exactly, had happened. He knew Kuroko hadn't had a good opinion of Mikoto before - she'd made no bones about the fact that she expected the Tokiwadai Ace to be a spoilt rich girl and seemed completely unwilling to change her opinion about the matter. How she'd gone from that to_this_ was something that boggled the mind.

That wasn't what was strange about the situation. The strange thing was her attempts to set Mikoto up with _him_.

He just couldn't understand that girl.

"You know, we should probably have brought Uiharu here. She'd probably be interested in meeting Mikoto, don't you think?"

Kuroko sighed, once again looking put upon.

"Geez, senpai - you should already know why she can't make it. She has-"

"-to go to the Power Development Curriculum at this time, yes, I know." He said, rolling his eyes. "I just don't see why we can't schedule these little gatherings of ours to accommodate her too - you'd think it'd be worth it."

"If this Uiharu is a friend of yours from Judgement, I'd like to meet her too. It's always fun to make new friends, right?" Mikoto chimed in.

Kuroko pursed her lips, apparently thinking over things.

"Geez, I can't think with you both ganging up on me like that. Though if you'd gang up on me in another way ..."

And here, she seemed to get lost in a fantasy of her own.

Ignoring her, as he was used to her antics by now, Satoshi moved forwards.

"Well, we might as well do what we came here to do ..."

"Oh right, I was looking to buy a new wallet - my old one's a bit worn out ..."

"Well, I think I saw a nice Gekota wallet somewhere on the second floor ..."

"REALLY?!"

He smirked at her.

"U-Um, I mean, that's ... that's nice, you know, if I was into that I'd probably like it. Stupid Satoshi."

They both entered the store, followed shortly by Kuroko.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Somewhere just outside the store, space rippled.

A flash of light seemed to paint the alley white, as a figure descended to the ground. The light faded to reveal a girl, dressed in a school uniform, a seifuku cream in color, with a brown collar and skirt. The girl had black hair and black eyes covered by glasses, and was wearing a beret on her forehead, which seemed to mesh with her uniform.

She was also bleeding rather heavily.

She breathed deeply, and the action seemed to cause the blood to flow faster. Clenching her teeth, she began to stagger out of the alleyway, searching the alleyway with her eyes to see if someone had spotted her unusual entry.

She was tired. And broken, and wounded, and so very lost. But she staggered on still, searching. For help. For someone to lend her a hand, to make a difference.

No one had, though. Not for a long while. For as long as she'd traveled, she'd received no deliverance - and all who'd tried to provide it had perished.

This was, after all, the fate of Kimiko Matsunobi, the 'Parallel Walker' - a name nobody here would know.

Nobody in this world, anyway.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_In her life, there was only the hunt._

_The hunt was her truth. The hunt was her calling. The hunt was her purpose._

_As long as the hunt remained, she was fulfilled. As long as the hunt was permitted, she had a use._

_She remembered little of her origins, remembered little of how she'd come to be. Testament had erased what had been there, replaced it with something more fitting and useful for a tool of the city. Her body, already raised to the pinnacle of what had been possible by Science, had been honed for a singular purpose. To serve the goals of the city, and more prominently, its caretaker, Aleister Crowley._

_In the short time she'd been alive, she'd been given numerous tasks to complete. Whole nations had fallen to her power, their governments crushed, their people driven to ruin. All to satisfy the machinations of the man who ruled the side of Science, who ruled Academy city. She had completed every task put before her flawlessly, borne out the hopes and expectations of her creators a thousand times over._

_Until she'd arrived._

_Kimiko Matsunobi. The Parallel Walker. An esper special even among espers, possessing a Gemstone ability that defied all logic and expectation. It was not simply teleportation that she was capable of. Time and space bent to her whim, entire realities made existent with her power. While she'd been utterly forgettable as a lower level esper, the true nature of her ability - and its potential - had been quickly revealed and realized when she'd hit Level 3._

_Operation in parallel or diverging timelines. That was her ability - the ability to bend time and space to be from _here _to _there_. She could create portals, leading from one location to another - tear rifts into the world, bringing things nonexistent into existence. All that and more, was possible for her._

_It was why she'd been tasked with capturing and subduing the Parallel Walker. She, the greatest of Science's creations._

_Her attempts so far had met with failure. Always, someone would interfere. Always, somehow her target would escape. Not this time. This time, the chase would end._

_She did not even care that she had long escaped the confines of Academy City, that her handlers were no longer there to handle her. She was free, but she caged herself with that freedom. To her, there was only the hunt. And the hunted._

_She had a duty, reinforced through Testament and indoctrination. And she would complete that duty, come hell or high water._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The girl in the seifuku grimaced, holding her hands over her wounds to stem the bleeding. She was lost.

And not like she usually was, either. This time, she simply didn't know where she was, in relation to _this_ world.

She was in Academy City. She knew that much. However, this was very different from the Academy City she had come to know. Where was the Orbital Elevator? Where was the space station, clearly visible from the ground up? Where were the skyscrapers, the grand towers, tall and majestic, proclaiming the city as the bastion of Science throughout the world?

She shouldn't have been surprised, but she couldn't help it. For some reason, she'd still expected the differences between this world and her own to be marginal. This was Academy City, after all - Academy City should have been Academy City, no matter the world.

Either way, she had to make tracks. She was still being pursued, and her pursuer was relentless - this she knew, from long and painful experience.

She glanced up at the sky, and noticed the clouds gathering. _Wonderful_, she thought. _Rain on top of my other troubles_.

She needed to find shelter. As weakened as she was from lack of nourishment and bleeding, catching a cold may be dire right now. Looking around, she started to move towards one of the shops with a large awning - hoping to find shelter from the rain.

She didn't notice the shadow that stalked like a predator after her, carefully concealed and silent.

She also didn't notice a young man gazing at her from within the store, Seventh Mist, attention drawn to her form by the wounds she was sporting.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Quietly, Satoshi slipped on his Judgement armband.

"Hm? Senpai, is something the matter?" Kuroko asked, holding up a pair of rather revealing clothes she had been about to try on.

"Yeah. You seem disturbed," said Misaka, who had been surreptitiously glancing at a pair of rather childish looking pyjamas moments before. Turning her attention to him, she continued, "You look like you've seen a ghost."

He frowned. How to put this ...

"Just saw something disturbing, is all. Kuroko, I think this may be a matter that needs Judgement's attention. Care to come with me?"

Kuroko nodded, instantly serious. She dropped the clothes back onto the rack and reached into her pocket, drawing out the transparent plastic sheet from the thin, lipstick-like structure of her mobile phone.

"I'll just contact Uiharu, get things set up on our end."

Satoshi nodded, already beginning to move out.

"You do that. Meanwhile, I'll take a look at things - see what's happening."

"H-Hey, wait up! What should I do?" Misaka asked, feeling left out, as she often did when Judgement business became involved.

"... Eh. This is against procedure, but I guess you can help out-"

"Senpai!"

Kuroko interrupted him, her tone stern. He sighed, acknowledging her point - Judgement business was Judgement business, and he wasn't supposed to involve civilians in it. Kuroko was a bit of a stickler for the rules in that way.

"Right, sorry. Mikoto, just ... wait here, alright? We'll be back in just a few moments."

Misaka frowned, annoyed. She hated it when she was left out of the loop like this.

"... Alright. You guys go on, I'll just browse around the store in the meantime."

Neither Kuroko nor Satoshi bought it for a second, but there was little else they could do. With a sigh, they nodded as one at Misaka, and dashed out of the store, Kuroko already contacting Uiharu to explain the situation.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Oh, Shirai-san! You won't believe what I just found out in this magazine-"

"Yeah, no time, Uiharu. Listen, we've got a situation!"

On the other side of the call, Uiharu Kazari straightened, giving Kuroko her full attention.

"Right! What do you have?"

Satoshi cut in, explaining the situation.

"I saw a girl in a cream and brown colored seifuku limp out of an alleyway near Seventh Mist, covered in blood. Someone was following her too. We're just going to make sure she's alright, and that the person following her doesn't hold any malicious intentions."

"Alright. Do you need my help?"

Satoshi nodded.

"Yeah, it'd help if we could ID the girl, try and figure out what she may have been involved in to get so heavily wounded. Here's her description: She's tall, about five feet, nine inches in height. She has black eyes, and black hair. Wears glasses. Her uniform's a cream colored seifuku, with a brown collar, and a beret with a mustard colored tag. She seems to be wounded, her left leg was bleeding heavily, as well as her left arm. Her three sizes are-"

"W-W-Wait, how do you know her three sizes?!"

Satoshi flushed, a bit embarrassed.

"It's ... part of my ability. I can identify the shapes and sizes of objects perfectly, no problem, even with a casual glance."

He could practically _feel_ the smirk Kuroko was sporting, as she internalized this tidbit. Wonderful. He could look forward to a lot of incessant teasing in the future from her with regards to this.

"W-Well, I don't really need that much information. Don't worry, I'll find her."

"Great, Uiharu", Satoshi said, handing Kuroko back her phone. "Call us when you get the details."

"Roger!"

And with that, there was nothing else to do but approach the girl ... who seemed to have seen them. And was trying to run away as fast as she could on her wounded leg.

Satoshi sighed. He hated it when things got complicated.

"Kuroko, catch up to her will you?"

"No problem, senpai."

She rushed ahead, rapidly teleporting up to the girl. She called out her name and affiliation to Judgement, but the girl didn't stop. Just before she could reach her ...

... A portal formed in front of the girl. Realizing what was about to happen, Satoshi blurred. He had to intercept her before she escaped, if only for her own protection and treatment.

He wasn't the only one.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_The hunt was on. The prey must not escape._

_She blurred, her surroundings fading into nothingness as she accelerated to just under the speed of sound - a shade below transsonic speeds. Behind her, she saw the man who had seen her do the same, attempting to reach the girl before her._

_That could not be allowed._

_Her left hand _shifted_, transforming into something else. In the very next moment, the massive gun had been leveled at her target, and she fired._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It all happened in a moment.

In a moment, Satoshi reached her, pulling her back from the portal without straining the girl's wounds further. Even as he placed her on the ground besides her, he noticed how she'd locked up - in fear, no doubt, though he couldn't see why she was so afraid of being caught by Judgement. If nothing else, this merited further investigation.

In the next moment, a slug, accelerated to four times the speed of sound, smashed into his torso, utterly destroying it and the rest of his upper body with its kinetic energy and shockwave - save his head, which flew away from the blast.

As Kuroko screamed in horror, he toppled - right onto the girl he'd pulled back from the portal, who was shivering with horror and fear.

And all the while, the girl with the transformed hand, the shadow that had been stalking the seifuku-clad girl, approached. Slowly. Measuredly.

Unstoppably.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N: SHIT BE GETTING REAL!

... Or maybe not. Who knows.

R&R, please.


	5. Looking for Help

_They walked outside her chamber, watching. Judging. Observing._

_She was a product to them, an experiment gone right. They did not regard her as a person, but as a tool._

_And that was fine with her. It was what she'd been taught to believe, indoctrinated to accept as truth. She was not a person, but an instrument - an instrument of Academy City's will. The sword that the side of Science held above the world's head._

_But still, there were times she thought of more. Days where she'd look into a window or mirror, and see not a tool, but a person._

_It was a defect, she was told. She was not to feel that way, not to attribute to herself the rights of a person._

_After the second time she was 'convinced' to give up such views, she learnt something. She was not a person - because the world did not believe she was a person._

_Because a person would not be treated this way._

_And that was that._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kuroko wasn't the only one who'd screamed on seeing Satoshi fall.

Misaka had followed the two, surreptitiously tailing them in the beginning and then running flat out after Kuroko had started chasing the girl. She'd been confused, in the beginning, wondering why the seifuku-clad girl was so obviously terrified of Judgement.

Her confusion had died a cold death, however, when she'd seen what happened to Satoshi.

She went numb, as she watched one of her closest friends just ... _die_, in front of her eyes, in a gruesome way. She wasn't even aware of the scream of rage that escaped her, or of flicking a coin up as she went above and beyond her limits in sending a railgun attack the girl's way.

That should have been that. The coin, traveling at nearly four times the speed of sound, should have done the deed. Certainly, had Misaka been thinking straight, she would never have done what she did. Murder for revenge was not a practice she particularly espoused, even if she likely wouldn't have just left things as they were.

None of that mattered, of course. The attack had been made. The girl who'd killed Satoshi should have died.

_Should_ have.

If Misaka had not already been in motion, moving to go near Satoshi's body, she would have died. If she had not been tilting her body low to the ground, adjusting for the momentum of her own railgun shot, she would have died. She would have died a quick and violent death, as her own coin rebounded back at her at precisely the same speed she'd shot it at, in the absolutely opposite direction.

She _had_ been in motion, however, and hence, she was merely blown away instead, crashing into a nearby wall full force.

Kuroko had barely reacted to the events happening around her - they were happening too quickly. She'd only barely regained her bearings after seeing Misaka hit the wall, when a familiar voice - impossible though it was to hear it - barked out, "Kuroko! Teleport to Misaka and get us in the crowd!"

The girl who'd caused this calamity hadn't been standing idle, however. The moment the voice had started shouting, she'd vanished in front of their eyes and reappeared with her hand arced out for a lethal strike, hands twisted into the form of a scythe. Kuroko did not see it, however - her vision was blocked by the massive black dome that had surrounded her, and as she noticed, the seifuku-clad girl too.

Without a second thought, she obeyed the order, teleporting first to Misaka - with the black dome and the bleeding girl attached - and then teleporting back out into the crowd near the entrance to the alleyway they'd entered, chasing the girl. For some reason, Kuroko felt as though they'd just dodged a bullet - a particularly dangerous one. Killing intent seemed to wash over her, and then fade away, as though disgruntled.

Kuroko turned, and was both surprised and not surprised to see her senpai, Satoshi, holding on to the girl who seemed to be in shock. His left hand was on Misaka, healing the minor wounds she'd taken from crashing into the wall at such speeds.

The dome was gone, though they were protected by something else now - a crowd that had gathered around them, just as shocked to see such an unusual gathering of people appearing in their midst. Of the girl who had attacked them, there was no sign.

Calmly, still a bit in shock, Kuroko lifted her left hand up and pointed to the arm band on it.

"Judgement business," she said.

That seemed to be enough for the gawking onlookers, who started to go back to their own business.

And while they left, Kuroko leveled a withering look on her senpai, demanding answers.

"I got it, I got it," sighed Satoshi. "I'll tell you what happened, though we should probably take the girl with us - we need to hear her side of the story too, and figure out why that girl was hunting her."

"... Let's go back to the branch office. I have a feeling it's something Uiharu would likely need to know as well."

Satoshi paused for a moment, a finger up in the air as though to dispute it - but then he grimaced, seeming to acquiesce.

"Alright, have it your way. Let's go."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It didn't take long to reach the 177th Branch Office inside, and once there, Kuroko wasted no time in shutting the door for privacy and pinning Satoshi with a stare demanding answers.

"I'll talk, I'll talk," Satoshi said, hands raised as if to ward her off. "Geez, you're getting a tad pushy there, you know?"

"You **died**, senpai."

He sobered up at that, finally noticing what was off with her. Kuroko had held up admirably, but she was shaking ever so slightly, and her gaze was far more fixed than normal.

"You died. I saw your head go flying off, saw your body get pulped. And I just stood there, couldn't do anything-"

She cuts herself off at that, the slightest hint of tears forming in her eyes.

He sighed, deeply. He felt like a real heel for his manner just then.

Quietly, he walked closer to Kuroko and drew her into a hug, waiting out the shakes she'd developed. Kuroko buried her head into his shoulder, just trying to get herself back under control after her lapse in composure.

"I'm fine," he said, soothingly. "See? Not a scratch on me. I'm too tough to just get killed like that, yeah? Come on, Kuroko. I'm **fine**."

He simply held her, quietly waiting out the emotional torrent she'd unleashed, the emotions that had been building up ever since she'd seen what had happened to him.

The shakes finally seemed to subside, and Kuroko seemed to calm down. Then-

"Hehe. You sure are sticking rather close to me, senpai~"

It was tremulous, lacking her usual vigor. It was an obvious attempt to try and pretend that the last few minutes hadn't happened, an obvious attempt to return to the status quo.

Satoshi obliged, making it a point to huff with exaggerated contempt, probably just like Kuroko would have wanted.

If she wanted to pretend the last few moments hadn't happened ... well, he was fine with that. Kuroko would open up to her feelings when she wished - she was that kind of girl, after all.

"I'll ... tell you what happened, _but_," he said, pointing at Misaka. "Let's wait for Mikoto to get up. And the girl, too - might as well get her to tell us what it was about too. And we might as well wait for Mii-"

Uiharu piped up, having kept quiet as their little moment had gone on, unwilling to intrude.

"Mii-senpai won't be able to make it, I'm afraid. I just talked with her on the phone - she has supplementary classes she's taking right now."

Well. That was a shame. He could have used the older girl's advice.

"... Right. Then I suppose all that's left to do," he muttered, touching Misaka and the seifuku-clad girl on the forehead with his hands, "is to wake them up."

He applied his power, jolting the two to wakefulness from the restful slumber they'd been in.

Misaka shot awake rapidly, jerking about as adrenaline flooded her system. For a moment, she just stared at Satoshi, as though looking at a ghost.

She sighed afterwards, in relief.

"So it was just a dream ..."

Satoshi cut in, pointing at the girl they'd dragged along with them.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that."

Misaka stared at the now awake girl for a moment, stunned. Then, she glanced over at Satoshi desperately looking at his body for any sign of damage. Finding none, she simply stared at him like Kuroko had done, demanding an explanation.

"Right. Since we're all up," and here, he glanced at the girl he'd been chasing, who seemed to have frozen up at being in the presence of so many Judgement personnel. "I'll answer any questions you have of me, and we can then get down to business."

"How are you just ... fine, after what happened?" Kuroko asked instantly.

"I ... healed."

"You ... healed." It was not a question, and Misaka's voice carried a note of disbelief.

"Yes. I healed."

"But ... senpai, I saw your head go-I saw you get _killed_. You can ... you can even heal from that kind of damage?!"

Kuroko's voice was hushed, her expression awed. Satoshi grimaced, not particularly liking it, but not knowing what to do about it in any case.

"Yeah. As far as I'm aware, as long as my head's intact, I should be fine."

"That's ... incredible." Misaka whispered, amazed. "So you were never really in any danger, then ...?"

Doubtless, she was remembering her own actions immediately after his supposed 'death'.

"Yeah. Well, more or less. The attack didn't really do much more to my head than fling it around, after all. And speaking of attacks ..."

Misaka grimaced.

"I ... I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry, but seeing you just _die_ like that-"

"No, it's alright." he said, sighing. "Just ... don't give in to that, alright? You're not that kind of person."

Misaka stared quizzically at him, about to say something ... before she seemed to catch herself and simply nodded.

"Um," Uiharu interceded tentatively, apparently fearful of trespassing in such an emotional quagmire. "Shouldn't we deal with the girl?"

"Right," said Satoshi. He turned to the girl in the cream-colored seifuku, gaze pointed and inquisitive. " You ... Care to tell us why someone like that was chasing you?"

"That depends," the girl said, frowning. "What do you know of Aleister Crowley?"

"...? The Superintendent of Academy City? What does he have to do with anything?"

"So you're not soldiers in his brainwashed esper army, out to assist him with world domination?"

For a moment, there was only silence, as the sheer absurdity of the statement sunk in.

Then-

"Are you retarded?" an annoyed Satoshi piped in.

Kuroko sighed, apparently already tired of this lmpromptu interrogation.

"Geez, why did this girl have to be a conspiracy theorist. They're always so hard to deal with ..."

Only Misaka failed to say anything disparaging, and that was likely because it was taking all her effort to hold back laughter. Uiharu had not been able to manage the same.

The girl smiled.

"So. You're not like that. Good to know."

She turned to them, her face serious.

"I'll trust you're telling me the truth, for now. If you are, though ..."

She sighed, breathing deeply. Her eyes had a hollow, hopeless sort of look to them.

"My name is Kimiko Matsunobi. And ... you should probably stay away from me. If you want to live, that is."

XXXXXXXXXXX

He paced outside the room, his mind churning with thoughts.

_Still won't agree? Maybe if you understand the danger ..._

Did she really think he'd abandon her? Just leave her to her fate? Heck, did she think _Misaka_ or _Kuroko_ would possibly do the same?

_I'm being hunted. I ... have been hunted, for a long time now._

He wasn't that kind of person. _They _weren't those kinds of people.

_My powers are unique, you see. Unquestionably, _I_ am unique among espers. My abilities transcend the real world, extending into imaginary ones._

Even if ...

_I can actualize the existence of imaginary worlds, make them come to life. I can bring forth scenes from another world, or outright open gates to other worlds if I need to._

Even if it would be difficult.

_As you might expect, this ability offered several advantages to anyone enterprising enough to use it. Someone like the Aleister Crowley of my world._

Even if it seemed nonsensical.

_My world. Yes, I can see you don't believe me. Suffice to say, I can provide proof - though it will take me some time to recover my power enough to open a full gate. Still, I can show you ... a few things._

Even if it seemed terrifying.

_Yes, like that. I can see you're starting to believe me now. In any case, where was I? Ah yes, the hunt._

There was no way ...

_For a long time now, I have been pursued by the strongest creature to exist in my world, on orders from Aleister Crowley. Orders for my capture and retrieval, to aid him in his mad bid for domination of the world and people._

... that they would just let her handle this by herself.

_Please - give up on me. HYBRID - that is the entity's name - is a Multi-Skill Esper, a conglomeration of all the top Level 5 espers from that Academy City. Vector Change, Dark Matter, Body Change, Electromaster, Meltdowner - all these abilities are ones she possesses._

They couldn't just turn their backs on this. Not now. Though maybe he was being too presumptuous, deciding for his friends as well.

_You'll die. Too many have already died trying to help me. Just ... leave me alone, drop me off. HYBRID will kill, without pause, anyone who tries to shelter me. You need to get away from me, go to ground. I'll ... I'll be fine._

The last thing he wanted was for them to get involved in something so dangerous. But he had a feeling he wouldn't be able to stop them. Not from this.

_Please ... just let me go. I've already damned enough people - I don't want to cause any more deaths. Just ... drop me off somewhere._

And since he couldn't just stop them from participating ...

_I'll be fine. I've managed to escape her so far. You're all really kind ... but you shouldn't be involved in this. Please, listen to me._

... He'd have to make sure he'd be able to protect them.

All of them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Alright, alright, we get it."

Misaka interceded, stopping Kimiko's passionate plea for them to leave her in its tracks.

Kimiko turned to Mikoto, eyes hopeful.

"Then ... you'll listen?"

"Hell no," Misaka snorted, interrupting her again. "It just means we have more of an idea what you're facing. That's all."

Kimiko seemed stricken by that.

"Please, you have to listen! This isn't something to play around with, your lives are in danger-!"

"Who's playing?" Misaka barked out. "We're not just pretending we'll be fine here. We know there's a good chance we won't. You ..."

She sighed, looking at Kimiko with gentler eyes.

"How long have you been running?"

Kimiko looked away.

"... Three years."

"And in those three years, how many times have you ... how many times have you had a chance to rest? To just ... stop and _live_, for just a moment?"

Kimiko didn't say anything, just looking away.

"... Tch. Learn to rely on the people around you, would you?"

Kimiko bristled at that, turning towards Misaka with anger in her eyes.

"I do! And the few times I made the mistake of relying on people, they died! I don't- I don't _want_ that anymore. I don't want their deaths - _your_ deaths - on my conscience."

Misaka looked at Kimiko through gentle eyes, before moving in and hugging her.

"Idiot. We're not them."

Kimiko stiffened at the physical contact, but before she could do anything, Misaka continued.

"We're who we are. You don't need to be so afraid all the time - we're not just going to turn around when we see someone who needs our help. That right, guys?"

"Un." "Of course, Onee-sama." "You got it, Misaka-san."

The three chimed in with their own thoughts, now that Misaka had handled the main situation.

"... You'll die."

Kimiko protested weakly, still not convinced. It was obvious that she _wanted_ to give in, to accept the help ... but she couldn't allow herself to.

Misaka deepened the hug, quietly holding Kimiko.

"We won't. You can count on that. For now, though, you should tell us all you can about ... about this HYBRID, and what she can do."

Kimiko nodded, subdued. Satoshi could see how affected she was, see how emotionally wasted and subdued the conversation had made her.

It had been simple, merely a promise not to simply let her go. Not to abandon her. And somehow, it had been emotionally exhausting for the poor girl. He wondered how much she'd suffered, for it to have such an effect.

In any case, wondering wouldn't get him anywhere. It was time to deal with this mess they were in.

Time to find out about HYBRID, and what she could do.

XXXXXXXXXXX

They were screwed.

Completely, irrevocably screwed.

HYBRID was a monster, no doubt about that. The abilities of the top 5 Level 5 espers of Academy City - all of them advanced enough that they counted as Level 5 abilities by themselves.

Accelerator's Vector Change, capable of immeasurable destruction and defense. His Body Change, allowing for immense versatility and adaptibility. Teitoku's Dark Matter, able to create exotic matter out of thin air with any property the user wished to ascribe to it. Mikoto's Electromaster abilities, capable of a certain level of control over the EM spectrum, and various magnetic and electric abilities of varying power. And finally, Meltdowner's control over unstable, particle-wave state electrons, capable of being used for incredible offensive and defensive abilities.

It wouldn't be wrong to say that a being such as this could take on the whole world ... and _win_. And if Kimiko was to be believed, that was pretty much what HYBRID had been used for, back in her world.

They were _so screwed_.

Satoshi sighed. Panicking wouldn't help the situation at all. What he needed ... what he needed was a plan. A trump. Something he could rely on.

Breathing deeply, he came to a conclusion. They needed help. And he knew just the person who could help.

He just hoped he'd listen.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_With a flick of a wrist, he sent the wind roaring._

_The air became wind, the wind became a gale, and the gale became hot plasma, that screamed down at his target._

_The attack was strong. Strong enough that even shelters rated against nuclear bombs would have collapsed from a single hit._

_And yet, the target survived._

_The dome made of rigid flesh, metal and matter of an exotic nature weathered the assault without a single problem, finally breaking apart at the will of it's creator._

_A moment later, the target went flying off, bouncing of his barrier - his great momentum and speed reflected right back._

_"You know it's never going to work, don't you?"_

_The target turned towards him, grimacing._

_"Just trying something new. Apparently, repeated strikes and altered trajectories of attack can still be reflected by your ability."_

_"Hoh. Trying to justify your latest defeat? You know nothing will change, right? You're never going to beat me. You should just stop trying."_

_"Like hell I'll stop. This little spar helps both of us, after all. Even if it can be ... painful."_

_"Painful? Is that what you call nearly dying all the time?"_

_His face twisted into a sneer._

_"You're taking this too lightly, you know? I could end up killing you, after all."_

_"No you won't."_

_He raised an eyebrow, amused at the other boy's presumption._

_"Oh? And why's that? I'm a monster, after all. I've certainly lived in the Darkness long enough to know that."_

_"Yeah, you're a monster. Just like I am. But ..."_

_And here, the boy looked at him, really tilting his head as though to be certain of what he was seeing._

_"... You don't want to be one. And that's why, you won't do it. Not if you can help it."_

_He scoffed, already restarting the battle. The earth in front of him detonated, massive chunks of it spearing outwards to strike at his target._

_The boy didn't know what he was talking about. He was already a monster._

_Already, a monster among monsters._

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I need your help."

Accelerator stared at the person standing outside his door.

"No."

The door started to close, but was abruptly stopped as a foot was placed between it.

"Hey, at least hear me out-"

"I don't need to. You're annoying. Go away."

Satoshi frowned, pushing forwards with a bit more strength.

"Look, I'm not leaving until you at least hear me out. Come on, what's the problem? Just hear me out-"

"_Fine. _Shut up and get inside, then."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Accelerator's apartment was rather simple, all things considered. White walls, and a relatively spartan environment that didn't lend the house much character. Unlike most student apartments, Accelerator kept things neat and clean, so there was at least no clutter to wade through on their way to his bedroom.

Once there, Accelerator sat down on the bed, while Satoshi leaned against the wall. There was a tension in the air, a current of restlessness that had nothing to do with the place, and everything to do with the people involved.

"Like I said before ... I need your help," Satoshi said, drawing closer to Accelerator. "Something's come up."

"Oh? And what business is it of mine?" Accelerator asked, already bored with the conversation.

"... There's a person. Another monster, just like us. Her name's HYBRID, and she's hunting someone." Satoshi continued, his expression focused. "We need your help to fight her - we won't be able to do it ourselves."

Accelerator turned to look at him, his expression one of abject disbelief.

Satoshi knew why he looked that way - knew what drove the expression on his face.

Accelerator was the kind of person who believed his power to be only capable of destruction. He didn't believe his power could ever be put to constructive use - certainly nothing like protecting someone. And there was the additional problem ...

"Who's 'we'?"

... That Accelerator was a bonafide loner.

"Misaka Mikoto, Shirai Kuroko, Uiharu Kazari, and me. We. We, the only ones who know about Kimiko, and her problems. I'll share them with you, if you agree."

"You want me to commit before even hearing what I'm getting into?"

"That's the deal, yes."

Accelerator smirked, looking down for a moment to gather his thoughts.

"Man, you've got some balls. Walking up to me like we're friends or something, asking me for help while offering nothing in return ... what possible reason could I have to help you?"

"Because if you do, you might be able to find out what's keeping you from Level 6."

For a moment, time seemed to freeze. Then-

"What was that? I seem to have misheard you."

"No. You heard me. This person we're trying to protect Kimiko from ... she might hold the key to reaching Level 6."

"... If you're bullshitting me, I'll kill you right where you stand."

Simple. To the point. Said in such an absurdly calm tone, you'd think he was talking about the weather.

Still. That was Accelerator, through and through. And thankfully ...

"I'm not. You can count on it."

... he wasn't really lying. Not if his suspicions were true.


End file.
